Most companies don't want to publicize when they've lost cargo at sea, but when their products come ashore, it makes the secret harder to keep. Some things that have fallen off container ships and then washed ashore months and years later:

Sneakers1992: Five containers of Nike sneakers fell off a ship heading from South Korea to Seattle, resulting in 80,000 floating shoes. They washed up on beaches all over the Pacific Northwest.Toys1992: A container fell off a ship crossing the Pacific, sending 28,800 floating toy ducks, frogs, turtles and beavers from a company called The First Years into the water. Many came ashore in Japan and Alaska, but some crossed the North Pole and were found in the North Atlantic. They are still being discovered by beachcombers today.

Hockey gear1994: Cargo from two 20-foot-by-40-foot containers that fell overboard crossing the Pacific — about 34,000 hockey gloves, chest protectors and shinguards — washed up on the coastline between Oregon and Alaska.

Legos1997: Nearly 5 million Lego pieces were lost in a container, one of 60 that fell off a ship near Land's End in the UK. Ironically, many of the pieces were sea-related, such as 418,000 diver flippers, 26,000 life preservers, 97,000 scuba tanks and 4,200 plastic octopuses.More sneakers2002: Three containers fell from a ship just off the Northern California coast, sending another 33,000 Nike sneakers into the soup. The sneakers weren't tied together, so beachcombers along the Pacific Northwest had to keep searching to find a matching pair. Cans of chow mein noodles also were found alongside the sneakers.

A dramatic cargo ship accident off the Alaskan coast last month highlighted a hard-to-track risk to doing business overseas: Problems at sea can result in big losses for companies relying on the products on board.

For Japanese automaker Mazda, last month's incident could mean the loss of nearly 4,800 cars and trucks headed for Canada and the USA. Although that's only a sliver of Mazda's annual sales, if the cars are damaged, there could be a shortage of some of its more popular models.

No one agency tracks how much cargo is lost at sea around the world each year. But because ships can carry such large loads, accidents take on a large scale. One sunken ship can carry thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars.

Industry experts estimate that anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 containers fall off ships each year, less than 1% of the number of containers sent by sea annually but representing a huge cost to those who lose cargo to the ocean. The loss of even one shipping container, which can be 20 feet to 40 feet long and 8 feet high and may hold millions of small parts, could shut down a manufacturing line.

"What we've always struggled with is, how do you quantify that for someone?" said Nicholas Dewhurst, executive vice president for Boothroyd Dewhurst, a firm that helps companies develop cost-efficient product design. "The chances of you losing something aren't very great. But when you do, it's a huge cost. It may be the only one of something in the world, and now you can't get it back. It's sitting on the bottom of the ocean, and you've missed your market opportunity."

In late July, a car-carrying ship originating from Singapore had an almost-Poseidon-Adventure experience: As crewmembers on the Cougar Ace adjusted the ballast waters in the ship's hull — something they needed to do before entering U.S. waters — the ship lost stability and listed 60 degrees on its side. The 23 crewmembers all were rescued. But the listing was so severe that a member of the salvage team looking into how to save the ship died Sunday when he slid down at least 80 feet and hit his head.

About half the cars on board are the compact Mazda3, which had a 16.4% sales jump in July. Dealers are already contending with a short supply of the car, averaging 21 days' worth of the vehicle, compared with an industry average of 60 to 70 days.

Before leaving the ship, the salvage crew determined that cars on two out of 14 floors were still chained in place, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Greg Beuerman, a spokesman for Mitsui O.S.K., the ship's owner, said the cars were securely latched down. "From what we know right now, we are encouraged about the condition of the cars," he said.

Still, one of those decks has taken on water. Salvagers could begin pumping water off that deck today. They're also trying to determine how to get the ship to port. The cars, which are insured by Mazda and remain Mazda's property, were headed to Vancouver, British Columbia; Tacoma, Wash.; and then Los Angeles.

It wasn't the first dramatic cargo-ship accident this year. In March, an explosion on the Hyundai Fortune container ship as it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden from Asia to Europe damaged hundreds of containers. Insurers estimate its cargo was worth $225 million to $700 million.

Pirates also are a threat to cargo ships. Increased law enforcement in hot spots such as the Malacca Straits linking the Indian and Pacific oceans resulted in an overall decline in pirate attacks from 329 in 2004 to 275 in 2005, according to the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center. But officials now worry that pirates are pairing up with terrorists.

Many companies don't like to admit they've lost cargo at sea. For one thing, there's a fear that environmentalists will target companies for the damage lost cargo could have on sea life. Curt Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer in Seattle who tracks ocean debris to study patterns of currents, said Nike, Lego and The First Years toy company have been upfront about cargo losses, helping him develop intricate maps of otherwise elusive currents.

From Ebbesmeyer's standpoint, shipping companies are hanging on to more of their cargo. "Just judging from the amount of debris washing up, the shippers seem to be doing a better and better job," he said. "There seem to be fewer incidents."